On Thursday, five Olympians, children’s author Itah Sadu and sports artist David Arrigo were on hand to start the students at the First Nations School of Toronto down their artistic path.

“When we’re engaged in the creative process sometimes we have a lot of ideas and people are telling us things and, suddenly, out of all those things something magical happens,” Sadu said.

“Use your imaginations,” Arrigo urged. “There are some crazy mascots out there and they’re a lot of fun.”

Working with Olympians — including Perdita Felicien, two-time world champion 100m hurdler, and Summer Mortimer, who came away from the London Paralympic Games with two gold, a silver and a bronze medal in swimming — it wasn’t long before mascots starting take shape. Creations ran the gamut from cats and dogs to bunny men and aliens.

Josh Ritchie’s mascot was a penguin balancing a tray of oatmeal on his head. Pengy was rainbow coloured because he’d fallen into paint, the Grade 6 student said.

Coming up with a backstory to the mascot is part of the contest, too. Ocean Bhatia-Louis had that bit down. Her mascot in the works was based on a traditional Mohawk bear.

“He’s going to have a feather head to make him look like a First Nations,” she said. “And to represent Canada he has a maple leaf on his body.”

Bhatia-Louis a student in Grade 5 can’t wait for the 2015 Games. “It’s really an honour to have them here. It’s so exciting to have athletes from around the world to compete and have fun and get active and represent their cultures,” she said.

Athletes say just about the same thing, especially those from Ontario, who cherish the rare opportunity to compete at home in front of friends, family and countrymen.

It’s so enticing an opportunity that Felicien, who has committed to just one more year of competition, can’t quite put it out of her mind.

“Honestly there is a temptation to go 2015 and just maybe retire in 2015 here at home. How amazing would that be?”

“But if you go 2015 you have to go 2016 and I’ve already said no, I’m through, I’m done, it’s over,” said Felicien, 32, who suffered the heartbreak of not making it to the London Olympics after a false start in the Canadian trials.

Still, she remembers all the times athlete friends from other countries have told her there’s nothing like competing at home. “Ask me in a year, maybe it might change.”

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